This invention relates to pneumatic driving apparatus in general, and more particularly to a novel type of pneumatic tool for use in puncturing or hammering operations, such as cattle stunning and the like.
Methods for commercial beef production generally call for first killing the animal and later bleeding and dressing the carcass. The killing of the animal is usually accomplished by means of a single, fatal blow to the back portion of the head so as to cause immediate death. This mode of slaughtering cattle is generally known as cattle stunning.
At one time the killing blow was delivered by an operator wielding a heavy object such as a club or hammer. Today, however, special driver tools are employed which are designed to be placed against the back of the animal's head and which, upon actuation, pass a long rod into a region of the animal's brain so as to cause instantaneous death. A number of different driver tools, or cattle stunners as they are generally called, are presently on the market. These are believed to include both pneumatic and explosive-actuated devices.